Disbelief
by Stayuff
Summary: Booth, Brennan, and Parker deal with a shocking loss. Set between seasons 3 and 4.
1. Chapter 1

"Bones! If you wanted fries, then you should have ordered some for yourself!" Booth said, as he slapped away the hand that was attempting to steal his last French fry.

"I cannot believe that you just slapped my hand away, as if I was a child!" Brennan snapped back incredulously.

Special Agent Seeley Booth and Dr. Temperance Brennan continued bickering over the fry theft and hand slapping incident, but were interrupted by the ringing of Booth's cell phone.

"Booth… Yes, this is Seeley Booth. Yes, I'm Parker's father. Is he okay? Oh, my God! What happened?" Brennan stopped eating the purloined fry and looked at Booth with wide eyes. "I'll be right there."

"What is it? Is Parker okay?" Seeing the mixture of pain, anger and helplessness cross her partners face threatened to break Brennan's heart.

Booth took a few deep breaths and began to speak in a soft and halting voice, "Parker is with the nanny down at the police station. He's fine. Rebecca… Rebecca was attacked at her house… She… She… died at the scene."

Booth's normally imposing form seemed to shrink as he said the words. Brennan's hand closed over Booth's as she tried to figure out what to say.

"Booth, hand me your keys and we'll go pick Parker up from the police station," she said in a small and quiet voice. He looked so lost that she didn't want to startle him. Booth nodded absently and pulled the keys out of his pocket. He just sat there for a moment staring at the shiny keys in the palm of his hand. Before Brennan could grab the keys from his hand, he closed his fingers over them and tightened them into a white-knuckled fist.

"How am I going to do this? What am I going to tell Parker?"

Booth began to cry and loosened his grip on the keys. Brennan seized the opportunity and grabbed them with her right hand. With her left hand, she began to pull Booth up out of his seat. As she got him to his feet, she tossed down a few bills on the table.

The ride to the police station was silent, except for Booth informing Brennan of how to get to the police station where Parker was waiting. When they pulled into the parking space at the police station, Brennan turned off the car and took Booth's hand in hers.

"Booth, you can do this. You're the heart person, so speak from your heart. I wish that I could help you with that, but that's your area of expertise and not mine. I will be here for you and help in anyway that I can, but I can't promise that I won't say the wrong thing or have nothing to say at all. But, I'll be here until you tell me to leave."

"Thank you, Bones. You're doing a great job so far."

Brennan's sincere pledge to be there for him seemed to have shaken Booth out of his reverie. He was still stunned and devastated, but knowing that he wasn't alone was comforting. Booth marveled at the amazing woman sitting next to him. She has changed so much in the last few years. When he first met her, she had been so emotionally detached that she would have been incapable of making such an earnest and heartfelt statement. But, for whatever reason, she had let him in and he was truly grateful for it.

"Let's go inside. The sooner we do this, the sooner I can get Parker home. This whole thing has to be terrifying him." Booth squeezed her hand and got out of the car. Brennan exited the vehicle and fell in step beside her partner. Her hand found its way into his as they walked through the door of the police station.

"Daddy!!"

Parker jumped off his nanny's lap and ran to his father. Booth scooped him up into a fierce hug and walked over to where Parker's nanny, Rose, was sitting with the police detective.

"Mr. Booth? I'm Detective Valdez, the lead investigator on the case."

"Special Agent Seeley Booth, FBI, and this is my partner, Dr. Temperance Brennan."

"Agent Booth, Dr. Brennan. Am I correct in assuming that the FBI will be taking charge of this investigation?"

"It's likely. I'll need to call it in to the Deputy Director." Booth set Parker down next to Rose. "Can you hang out here with Rose for a little while, Bub? Daddy and Bones need to talk to Det. Valdez about some things and then we can go home. Okay?"

Parker obviously didn't want to let his father go, but he nodded his assent. "Promise, Daddy?"

"I promise, Park." After another big hug, Booth and Brennan left Parker with Rose and followed the detective into an interrogation room.

"Agent Booth, first I'd like to say that I am so sorry for your loss." Booth nodded his thanks and waited for the detective to continue. "How much detail do you want to know right now?"

"Go ahead and tell me everything. I need to know the facts." Booth didn't want to know any of this, but he needed to know so that he could help get justice for the mother of his son. He balled up his fists at his sides and resigned himself to the fact that the details of this conversation would likely haunt him for the rest of his life.

"Ms. Stinson was found in her home by the nanny, Rose Alipo. According to her statement, Ms. Alipo took the boy to the playground after picking him up from school and returned a few minutes after Ms. Stinson was expected to arrive. Ms. Alipo stated that she noticed that the door was open and the window was broken. Seeing this, she sent Parker back to the car and told him to wait for her there."

"So, Parker didn't see anything?" Booth breathed a huge sigh of relief. At least his son didn't have to deal with the gruesome mental image of his mother's lifeless body.

"No, Parker didn't see anything. He remained in the car while Ms. Alipo dialed 911 from her cell phone. Our officers arrived on the scene a few minutes later, entered the home and discovered the body. After giving her initial statement, Ms. Alipo and the boy were brought here so that she could be questioned regarding any recent odd occurrences at Ms. Stinson's residence."

"How was the victim positioned when she was found? Had she already expired when the paramedics arrived? May I see the crime scene photos?" Brennan winced at the expression that flashed across Booth's face as she referred to Rebecca as the victim. Seeing that pain stopped her from pushing farther forward with such direct and stark questions.

"The victim was found face-down on the kitchen floor with a single gunshot wound to the back of the head." Det. Valdez slid a stack of pictures across the table to Dr Brennan. Booth emitted a small strangled sound from the back of his throat when he saw Rebecca's body sprawled on the floor with her face hidden in a pool of her own blood. Det. Alipo continued answering Brennan's questions, " The body was cold and the victim had no pulse. Our forensics team estimated that she had been dead for at least 2 hours."

Booth shook himself and tried to force himself into investigative mode. "Did you find any outstanding evidence at the scene?"

"There was a note that was typewritten. It said 'She was never good enough for you. I would never treat you the way she did." The detective slid a plastic bag with the note inside to across the table to Booth.

"You weren't able to get any prints off of this?" Booth asked as he examined the note.

"No and we're still analyzing the prints found around the house, trying to see if we find any prints that shouldn't be there."

"Well, I think that's enough for me to get Cullen to make this an FBI case. Could you excuse us while I place the call?" Booth pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and waited for the detective to leave. Valdez nodded and left the room quietly.

As Booth started to dial with his right hand, he grabbed Brennan's hand again with his left. "This is Booth, I need to speak to Cullen, please... Sir, I need you to send agents down to the 9th precinct of the Metro police department and to Rebecca's house. Sir... Rebecca's been murdered... No, Parker's fine. Thank you, sir... Yes, I realize that, but can I at least assist? Thank you, sir.. That's all I ask... Yes, that would be great... Det. Valdez... No, you won't regret it." Booth hung up the phone and squeezed Brennan's hand again.

"Cullen is putting some agents on the case. I'm allowed to assist the team, but I cannot be in charge of the investigation. Cullen is going to have her body sent to the Jeffersonian, so we need to call the squints. He's calling Det. Valdez now to inform him that the FBI will be taking over the case because it involves the family of a federal agent."

Booth paused as he lost his grip on the facade of calm that he had adopted while talking to the detective. He slumped over and placed is head in his hands as he began to sob. Brennan placed her hand on his shoulders as she pondered the appropriateness of a hug. Deciding that Booth would probably hug her in a similar situation, she leaned over to him and put her arms around him. His arms immediately engulfed her waist while he cried with his head on her shoulder. He was squeezing so hard that Brennan was sure that he would suffocate her if he squeezed his arms any tighter. After a few minutes, Booth pulled back and looked into her eyes. He whispered a barely audible, "thank you," before wiping the tears from his face and pulling away. When he had regained his composure, he stood up and pulled Brennan to her feet. He kissed her gently on the temple and walked out of the interrogation room with his hand firmly clasped in hers.

"Parker, let's go." Parker bounded up to his father and looked at him with a puzzled look on his face. However, the boy did not voice his questions. He just raised his arms so that his father would pick him up and laid his head on Booth's shoulder when he was settled in his arms. Brennan and Rose trailed behind as Booth led the way to the SUV.

After dropping Rose off at her house, Booth started heading towards the Jeffersonian so that Brennan could get her car but Brennan put her hand on the wheel. "If you want, I can come home with you now and Angela can pick me up later. I mean, if you want me to come with you... I understand if you don't..."

"No, please. I'd really appreciate it if you could be here for me during this. There are a lot of difficult things to say." Booth nodded at the young boy sitting in the backseat absorbed in his GameBoy.

"Okay, let me check in with the team." Brennan called the team to confirm that Cullen had contacted them about the case. She was careful to speak in generalities and rely on scientific jargon so that Parker wouldn't realize that she was talking about his mother's remains.

After the trio got inside the door and took off their coats, Booth heard the question that he had been dreading. "Daddy, something bad happened to Mommy, didn't it?"


	2. Chapter 2

_Daddy, something bad happened to Mommy, didn't it?_

Booth looked into his son's eyes. How was he going to do this? He wished that he could just suspend time and never have to answer his child's question. Foolishly, he entertained ways that he could avoid shattering his son's world. But, he could not bury his head in the sand. His son needed him and deserved a strong parent who could help him through anything.

Resolved to face reality, Booth answered, "Yeah, son. Something bad happened to Mommy… Some bad people hurt her and she was hurt bad enough that… that God took her to heaven, so she wouldn't have to hurt anymore."

"So, she's not coming back?" Parker looked up at his father with tears threatening to fall from his huge brown eyes.

"No, son… She's not coming back." Booth's heart broke as Parker's tears began to fall and the little boy buried his face in his father's neck. They sat like that on the couch for a long time, just holding each other and crying.

Booth felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Brennan's liquid blue eyes reflecting her empathy for their situation. Booth pulled her to his side with one arm and soon both Booth men were hugging her tightly. Brennan felt like she needed this embrace as much as they did. She knew what it was like to lose a parent and she sensed that this kind of moment, one so filled with love and comfort, was what she had so desperately been needing since her mother's death. They sat there letting the magic of human connection begin the long process of healing broken hearts.

After a while, Parker drifted off to sleep. The emotional toll of the day had exhausted him and he had finally given himself over to peaceful sleep. Brennan noticed Parker's deep, even breathing and nudged Booth in the side. He looked at his son with a tired smile and whispered, "Bones, will you help me get him into bed?"

Temperance nodded and slowly extricated herself from the tangle of arms that had comprised that extraordinary hug. Booth stood up, holding Parker gently to him, and led the way to the little boy's bedroom. Booth turned on the light and Brennan walked in to pull back the covers. She moved back to the doorway then and observed the sweet scene before her. Booth carefully removed Parker's shoes and socks before tucking him in tightly under the covers. He smoothed the unruly mass of blond curls and kissed his son on the forehead. After turning on the nightlight and leaving the door open so they could hear him, Brennan and Booth turned off the overhead light and walked back into the living room. Booth turned to face his partner after they had situated themselves on the couch.

"Temperance, thank you for being here for us today. I know that it can't be easy for you, since you know what Parker's going through."

"You don't have to thank me, Booth. You're my partner and my friend. You've done so much for me, now it's my turn to be here for you. I told you before that I would be." Brennan was about to say more when she was interrupted by the ringing of her phone.

"Brennan... Hi, Ange…" She got up and walked into the kitchen so that she could discuss the case, without worrying that Parker would overhear.

Booth decided to go into his bedroom to make some important, but difficult phone calls. It was more than an hour later when Booth finally emerged from his bedroom to find Brennan standing in Parker's doorway, watching him sleep. He could see genuine affection and concern on her face and it tugged at his heart to see her so entranced by his son's sleeping form.

Booth walked up behind her and whispered into her ear, "I've always loved watching him sleep."

Brennan jumped a little at the tickling sensation that his whisper caused. She turned to him with a half smile, a little embarrassed to have been caught. "He looks so innocent and tranquil. I was afraid that he would have nightmares, like I did after my parents disappeared."

"Well, he was simply exhausted after today. I don't think that he's even dreaming. I'm glad, because he needs the rest." Booth motioned for Brennan to follow him into the living room, so that they wouldn't have to keep whispering.

They settled back onto the couch and Booth decided to get right to it, "So, what news did Angela have about the case?"

"She said that they were definitively able to determine that cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the back of the head. Death was likely instantaneous." Booth shuddered and thanked God at the same time. If there was any mercy in this, at least he knew that she didn't have to endure a painful death. Brennan continued, "They have sent the bullet to ballistics for analysis. They're going to see if it matches anything in the FBI database. That's really all that they have right now. Analysis is still being performed on the note, but it was a typewritten note from an ink jet printer on generic bond paper. So, it will be difficult to trace it."

Just then, Booth's stomach growled and they realized that they hadn't eaten supper. Brennan looked at Booth and asked a question that they both knew the answer to, "Thai food?"

When the food arrived, they dove right in without speaking. Brennan could sense that Booth was frustrated by the fact that the case seemed to be going cold already and that he needed some silence to deal with that. However, when she saw the intensity of his anger building, she opened her mouth in an attempt to say something comforting.

She never got the words out because there was a loud, authoritative knock at the door. Booth opened the door to see Deputy Director Cullen standing there with the Agent Nelson, who was the agent in charge of Rebecca's case. Both had grim expressions as they walked through the door and over to Dr. Brennan.

"Dr. Temperance Brennan, you are under arrest for the murder of Rebecca Stinson."

Despite her protests and repeated pleas of innocence, Agent Nelson proceeded to read Brennan her rights and place the cuffs on her wrists. Booth stood there dumbly for a moment, unable to believe that this crazy scene was actually occurring in front of him. _This has to be some sort of strange nightmare. They couldn't possibly be arresting Bones for Rebecca's murder!_

"Booth!! I didn't do this, Booth! Make him take these ridiculous handcuffs off; it's not like I actually am some sort of dangerous criminal!" At the sound of his name, he snapped back into the moment.

"Sir, you can't be serious about this! Bones would never murder someone and she has no reason to want to hurt Rebecca anyway. She would never do that to me and she would never do that to Parker!" Booth tried to step closer to his partner, so that he could help her, and was blocked by Cullen.

"Booth, we matched the bullet to her gun and found it in the locked gun safe in her apartment. Also, traces of Dr. Brennan's blood were found on the broken window at the victim's home. Add that to the fact that we recovered a file containing the note that was left at the scene and additional notes that appear to be meant for planned murders of several other women that you dated. That list included Dr. Saroyan, as well as Ms. Tessa Jankow. If evidence exists that can clear Dr. Brennan, then that's great. But, until then, we have a warrant for her arrest and must take her into custody." With that, Cullen and Nelson escorted the highly incensed and verbally abusive forensic anthropologist outside.

Booth went to follow, but stopped when he heard his son's voice, "Daddy? Where are they taking Bones?"


	3. Chapter 3

As horrified as he was at the sight of his partner being taken into custody, Booth was completely destroyed by the look of sadness of his son's face. "Hey Bub, they just need to talk to Bones about some important stuff from work, but she really wanted to stay here with you."

"But she really looked mad, Daddy. You're sure that she's okay?" Parker looked unconvinced.

"Yeah, Bub. She's okay. Listen, I really need to go and help her with that stuff from work. Would it be alright if I took you to hang out with Sid for a while?" Booth hated to dump his son off on someone else when his mother had just died, but he needed to make sure that Parker didn't loose another important woman in his life.

"Yeah, Daddy. That'd be okay." Parker seemed to understand that his dad wouldn't just leave him like this without a really good reason.

After dropping Parker off with a very understanding Sid, Booth headed to the Hoover building to find out what was going on with Bones. On his way, he tried to call Caroline but her cell phone went straight to voicemail. They must have already called her in on this case.

Sure enough, as Booth approached Cullen's office, he could hear the fiery tirade of Federal Prosecutor Caroline Julian.

"You arrested her at his house? In front of his son? How is that going to look if we go to trial? Were you born this stupid or did your mama drop you on your head one too many times?" Caroline Julian spat her words at the Deputy Director of the FBI as though he was some pimple-faced kid who screwed up her order at Starbucks. She didn't appreciate it when people screwed with her cases.

Caroline looked like she was just about to start in on Cullen again when Booth knocked on the door.

"Booth. You shouldn't be here." Cullen said angrily, though he was secretly relieved to have an excuse to stop Caroline's rampage.

"Sir, I know but I just can't believe that she would, or even could, do this. Not only is she not a murderer, but she wouldn't hurt Parker or me like that." Booth knew these statements were true, beyond a shadow of a doubt. "Can I see her?"

"She's about to be questioned by Agent Nelson right now."

"Can I watch the interrogation?" Seeing his boss open his mouth to protest, Booth added, "Please, sir. I just need to make sure that she's okay."

"Alright, you can watch from the observation area, but I cannot allow you to speak with her tonight. I'm bending the rules enough as it is." Cullen shook his head in disbelief. The bond these two share is truly astounding. _Even with so much evidence against her, he still believes in her innocence._

When he entered the observation area of the interrogation room, he saw Temperance sitting at the table on the other side of the two way mirror. The expression on her face was a mixture of anger and sadness.

A short while later, Agent Nelson entered the room with a glass of water and set it down in front of his suspect. She glanced up at him without speaking, but the smoldering look that she gave him conveyed insults that would reduce most people to tears. Agent Nelson, much to his credit, didn't flinch.

"Dr. Brennan, could you please describe your relationship to Rebecca Stinson?"

"Rebecca was the mother of my partner's son, Parker Booth."

"How would you characterize your relationship? Were you friends? Did you know each other well?"

"I met her a couple of times. Once, when she stopped by the FBI building looking for Booth and found me instead. Another time, she and her boyfriend brought Parker to the diner while I was there with Booth."

"What was your opinion of Ms. Stinson? Did you approve of her attitude towards Agent Booth?"

"Not always, sometimes I felt that she used her son against his father. She never let him forget that his time with Parker was a gift that she gave him and that gift could be taken away whenever she pleased."

_Oh, man. Bones, you're basically admitting that you had motive! I know that you didn't do this, but not everyone knows you like I do. The interrogation had only been in progress for a few minutes and already Booth was so scared for her that he could barely sit still._

"So, you did not approve of her treatment of Agent Booth?" Nelson saw that this was definitely the right button to push.

"No, I thought that she behaved childishly. Her first concern should have been their son, not getting back at him for some perceived wrong perpetrated against her."

"So, it would be fair to say that you didn't like Ms. Stinson?"

"I don't believe that I knew her well enough to form that strong of an opinion. But, some of her actions did annoy me. She was unnecessarily rude and callous to my partner. He's a good father and she treated him like he was one of those men who try to escape paying child support, a 'dingbat dad'."

_Dingbat dad? What rock did this woman live under?_ Agent Nelson shook his head and tried to ignore her strange comment and just proceed with his questions. "Would it be fair to say that you hold your partner in high regard?"

"Yes, Booth is an honorable man. He's not perfect, but he follows his heart and wants to believe the best of people."

"Are you in love with Agent Booth?"

"I don't see where my personal feelings for Agent Booth are any of your business, but I resent the implication that my relationship with Booth is anything but professional."

"You didn't answer my question, Dr. Brennan. I did not ask whether you have behaved professionally in your work with Agent Booth; I asked whether you are in love with him."

"I respect him and admire him."

"Are you in love with him?"

"What does this have to do with anything?"

"Do you love him, Dr. Brennan?"

_I can't answer that! Damn! There's just no good answer here! Think, Temperence! Think!_"Yes, I suppose I do. I don't believe in being 'in love' but, I do believe that people can share genuine affection with one another based upon mutual respect and chemical attraction." _Did I just say I love Booth?_

_Did she just say she loved me?_

Just then, Cullen's cell phone rang. "Cullen... You did? Where did you find her? Okay... Thanks... Good work." He hung up the phone and said, "Tessa Jankow was caught outside Dr. Saroyan's residence tonight with a gun. We had her place put under surveillance as soon as we discovered that her name was on the killer's list. Ms. Jankow confessed at the scene. They're bringing her in now."

Cullen went to the door of the interrogation room and stuck his head in to let Dr. Brennan know that she was free to go.


	4. Chapter 4

"What do you mean I'm 'free to go'? You arrest me for a murder that I didn't commit, drag me away from my partner's house in handcuffs, you force me to answer questions that were none of your business in the first place and then you just walk in here and say that I'm 'free to go'? How dare you!" Brennan was thrashing about so much in her anger that Agent Nelson couldn't even catch hold of her wrists to remove the handcuffs.

_She's going to get herself arrested for assaulting a federal agent, if she's not careful!_ With this thought, Booth decided to intervene. He practically leapt through the door of the interrogation room. "Bones! They're letting you go. Can't you just be happy that you've been cleared?"

Brennan froze on the spot, stopped struggling, and then turned her head slowly to face her partner. Booth was not surprised by the emotion that he saw etched onto her face and radiating from her eyes; she was angry. What surprised Booth was the quiet intensity of her rage. The look she gave him made him back up a couple of steps. _Why does she look like she's mad at me?_

"You," she said quietly. "You were there the whole time? Watching this idiot interrogate me?"

"I tried to get them to let me see you. This was the best I could get." Booth started to inch towards Brennan again.

"The best you could get?! That's your excuse for sitting on the other side of the mirror to satisfy some voyeuristic need to pry into my personal feelings?" With that, Brennan snatched the keys to the cuffs out of Nelson's hand and released herself from the cuffs. In a flash, she was out the door and storming off towards the elevators.

_Personal feelings?_ For a moment, Booth stood there trying to sort out what she had said, or rather shouted, at him. _Oh, no! She's mad because she basically admitted to being in love with me._ Booth dashed out of the room and reached the elevators just as the door closed. Booth ran to the stairwell door and practically flew down the steps in the hope that he would be able to catch her getting off the elevator.

When he finally reached the ground floor, he threw the door to the lobby open and shouted as he saw Brennan exiting the lobby doors. "Bones! Wait!" Brennan stopped on the top step, but kept her back to him. He walked up to stand beside her and turned her to face him. Brennan just stared at the ground.

"Temperance, I'm not going to make fun of you for expressing your feelings and I'm not going to walk away just because things have changed between us." He lifted her chin with his forefinger, "Our relationship is difficult to define. I know that bothers you. I also know that you're afraid of the possible ways that our relationship could be defined if we allow ourselves to cross the line from being partners to being romantically involved."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he stopped her by putting a finger to her lips. "Don't interrupt. I know that I placed a great deal of importance on the line between people who work together in high risk situations. I tried to pretend that the line was about sexual intimacy. It isn't. The line that I was referring to involves emotional intimacy, really knowing someone well and caring more than anything for them. It's about caring so much for someone that you would risk your own life for theirs; it's about love."

"I don't know what that means," Temperance said, her words slightly muffled by Booth's finger that still lingered on her lips.

Booth smiled. "Somehow, I knew you were going to say that. Bones, emotional intimacy is something that you and I have had for a long time. Long before that line was ever drawn. It never applied to us. I don't know where we go from here, but I'm not going anywhere without you. We don't have to figure it all out tonight; in fact, we probably shouldn't even try. Just, please, don't run away from this. I love… you…" Booth's last word was barely audible because, at that moment, Brennan reached up and removed his finger from her lips while taking a step forward. Her face was so close that their lips were almost touching.

"That was the most logical thing I've ever heard you say," Brennan said softly before she closed the distance between them and placed a gentle kiss on Booth's lips. He looked at her with wide eyes and she smiled. _She may have gotten to make the first move, but I'm sure as hell going to make the second move!_ Booth leaned back down and captured her lips in a deep and passionate kiss that only hinted at the depth of their feelings for each other.


	5. Chapter 5

The sun had just started to come up as they arrived at Sid's to pick up Parker. Not much had been said between the pair since they shared that second kiss on the steps of the Hoover building. They had just walked to the car holding hands and drove away. When Booth pulled into a spot put the vehicle in park, he turned to look at Brennan.

"So, Bones… Do you want me to drop you off after we take Parker to breakfast or would you like to come back home with us? I know that we both need to get some sleep."

"Would it be alright if I stayed with you and Parker? I don't know why, but the thought of going home and not being with you and Parker seems strange. I just get the feeling that I'm supposed to stay with you." Brennan's brow was crinkled in a genuine look of confusion.

Booth smiled at her and said, "It sounds like you're having a gut feeling, Bones. I guess that I'm rubbing off on you. Of course, you can stay with us. I think that it would mean a lot to Parker and I know it means a lot to me." Booth leaned toward her and kissed her lightly.

"Well, let's go get Parker. I'm hungry and exhausted!" Brennan said as she opened her door and got out of the SUV. Booth chuckled at her enthusiasm and got out to walk with her to up to Sid's door.

Before they could even ring the bell, Sid opened the door with a smile. "So, I see you two were able to clear up a few things."

"Yeah, they caught the real killer and Bones was released."

"Now, you know that's not all I meant. But, I'm happy for you about both matters." Sid winked as he motioned for them to come inside.

"Sid, thank you so much for watching Parker for me. I hope it wasn't too much trouble. I just couldn't figure out where I should take him, but I knew that I couldn't take him with me and that he would feel safe here with you."

"Anytime, man. Anytime. The kid was no trouble and after he ate a bowl of soup, he went straight to sleep. In fact, he's still asleep now." Sid pointed to the small bundle of blankets on the sofa with blonde curls sticking out of the top.

"Here, Bones. Take the keys and unlock the truck for me. I'll get Parker and meet you out there."

As Brennan exited the door, Booth walked over to where Parker was sleeping and scooped him up. Sid tousled Parker's hair and held the door open as Booth walked outside. "He's going to be fine, G-man. He's got you and you've both got the Bone Lady."

"Thanks, Sid."

After they were settled in the SUV, Booth reached over and took Brennan's hand in his and held it for the entire drive home. Parker slept peacefully in the backseat, barely even stirring when they drove through potholes.

Booth had just gotten Parker settled into his bed when his cell phone rang. He moved quickly out to the living room to retrieve it from his coat pocket. "Booth… I'm glad that you made it safely. What hotel? Well, we just got back home a little while ago. He's doing pretty well. He's asleep right now. I'll explain everything when I see you. How about we all meet for supper? My parents should have arrived by then and they're staying at the same hotel. Great. We'll meet you there at 7. Goodbye, Nancy."

Booth hung up the phone, "That was Rebecca's mother. They drove in from Philadelphia overnight. We're meeting for dinner at their hotel this evening."

"Oh, okay. Um…"

"Yes, Bones. I want you there, if you feel comfortable with it. I know that this means meeting Rebecca's parents and my parents, but they're Parker's grandparents so I think that they should get to know you. After all, you are going to be spending a lot more time with Parker now that he lives with me and we're… whatever we are. I guess we're dating?"

"Well, we technically haven't had a date, yet. At least not an official one. But, now that I think about it, we've spent a great deal of time together on activities that are commonly part of a date. We've shared meals, danced together, and kissed." Brennan chuckled. "I suppose that we've been dating for some time now! How did I miss that? Normally, I am exceptionally observant."

"Bones, this is one of those heart things that I've been trying to teach you about. Don't worry, though. What's important is that we both recognize that we're dating now." Booth stifled a yawn. "Well, it's either very early or very late, depending on how you look at it. Either way, we've been awake too long. Let's get some rest."

"The guest room is the one to the right of Parker's, isn't it?"

"Bones, I promise to behave. Please, just sleep in my bed. I think I'll sleep better…" Booth flashed the biggest charm smile that she had ever seen him give.

"Booth, is that really a good idea? How do you think Parker would react if he found me sleeping in your bed?"

"I think that he'd probably be happy, because he adores you. Plus, he'd think that you're very special to me, because I've never had a woman sleep over when he was here." Booth had been slowly guiding her to the bedroom as they were debating. They reached the door and he stopped to kiss her deeply.

"I think that I have a new favorite way to enter this room. I may just have to kiss you every time we walk in here." Booth said with a grin. Looking at Brennan's wrinkled clothes, he went to his dresser and pulled out a black t-shirt that said "FBI, Not Standard Issue" on it and an old pair of grey gym shorts.

"Here, you can sleep in these. I know they're a little big for you, but at least the shorts have a drawstring. You can change in the bathroom. I'll change out here."

"Always the gentleman." Brennan smiled and went into the bathroom to change. It was then that she realized that she was in seriously uncharted territory here. It was all so intimate. Wearing his clothes. Being in his bathroom. Sleeping in his bed. If any of this had happened at an earlier point in their relationship, she didn't think that she would have been ready for it. Now, though… Now that they knew each others' hearts and had acknowledged that they were so inextricably intertwined in one another's lives, it just seemed right.

Comfortably dressed in his clothes, she exited the bathroom to find Booth sitting on the bed in a Pittsburgh Steelers t-shirt and a pair of pajama pants with what appeared to be cowboy boots, cowboy hats and spurs printed on them. He had completed the ensemble with a pair of socks with little footballs all over them. She couldn't help but grin at the sight of him.

She sat down next to him on the bed and he drew her in for another kiss. "Thank you, Bones. I don't know what I'd do without you."

"Let's hope that you never have to find out." With that last comment, they crawled under the covers and Booth turned off the bedside lamp. Brennan turned away from Booth to sleep on her side and he curled up behind her with his arm around her waist. They were asleep in moments.

Brennan awoke to feel something cool and wet on her arm. _Did Booth drool on me?_ She opened her eyes to see Parker curled up between them with his head resting on her arm. His mouth was open and a small trail of drool was seeping out onto Brennan's arm. _Ordinarily, I would probably think that this was gross. But, it's actually quite endearing._ Brennan glanced at the clock._ Oh, it's 2:30pm! We should probably get up now. We'll all need showers and some sort of light lunch._ Brennan looked down at Parker and the growing puddle of drool on her arm. _I really wish I didn't have to wake him._


	6. Chapter 6

_Okay, now the drool is running down my arm! I love the kid, but that's just a little too much for me. _Brennan tapped Booth on the arm, eliciting a grunt and a handslap.

"Booth..." Brennan whispered while tapping him on the arm again.

Booth grabbed her hand and opened one eye. "What do you think you're doing? Sleep, Bones!" he said at something between a whisper and a hiss before closing his eye again.

"Booth, it's after 2:30 in the afternoon. We still need to get showered, eat, get some clothes from my house, and get some clothes for Parker." _Not to mention the flood of drool running down my arm!_

Booth looked down at Parker, noticed the drool on Brennan's arm, and had to stifle a laugh. "Bones, you know you could have just said, 'Parker is covering my arm in drool' and I would have understood."

"Well, I didn't want it to seem like I didn't like him." Brennan replied softly.

"Bones, thinking that it's gross to be drooled on doesn't mean that you don't like my son. It means that you know that waking up with drool running down your arm is nasty." Booth moved Parker's head off Brennan's arm and placed it on the pillow before leaning over to get a tissue from the bedside table. "Since you got the drool treatment, you can have the first shower. There are towels in the cabinet and I that I have some hotel shampoo and conditioner in one of the drawers."

Brennan gave Booth and Parker each a kiss on the cheek before she headed off to the shower.

"Parker, bub, wake up. I need you to help me get the food ready."

"Hmmmmmph..." The little boy rolled away from his father and let out a little whine.

"Parker..."

"Daaaddyyy... Shhh..."

"Okay, Parker. You're going to make me get the tickle monster!!"

Like a shot, Parker was out of bed and heading towards the kitchen.

It took them over three hours to get out of the house, but they managed to get out of the house and headed to the Jeffersonian to get Brennan's car in a moderately orderly fashion. They had agreed that Booth would go to Rebecca's house and pack up some of Parker's clothes and toys, while Parker and Brennan would go to Brennan's apartment so that she could pack some clothes. Booth helped Brennan get Parker's booster seat out of the SUV and installed in her car before he embarked on the dreaded trip to Rebecca's. Brennan had offered to go, so that he wouldn't have to go in the house where his child's mother had been murdered. However, Booth decided that he should go, since he knew what Parker was going to need and where everything was.

_Well, I guess it's now or never._ Booth opened the door and walked into the house. It felt strange walking into Rebecca's house, knowing he would never get the chance to talk to her again. _Becca, I wish that we could have had the chance to apologize to each other for all of the crap we put each other through over the years. I promise that I'll take good care of our boy. I know that I'm going to screw things up from time to time, but I'm going to try really hard._ Booth wiped the tears from his eyes and headed for Parker's room.

Brennan and Parker were playing tic-tac-toe when Booth arrived carrying a fresh change of clothes from the bag that he had packed at Rebecca's. After Parker got changed, they loaded Brennan's bag into the SUV and transferred the booster seat back out of Brennan's car. Soon, they were headed over to the hotel where all four of Parker's grandparents were waiting.

"Grandma and Grandpa!" Parker broke into a ran towards a silver haired woman and a tall man with salt and pepper hair. The man scooped him up and held him so that he and the woman could both hug him before placing Parker back on his feet.

"Nana!! Poppy!!" Parker moved to hug a blonde woman and a balding man wearing glasses. He hugged them fiercely as the the couple cried.

While Parker was hugging the second couple, Booth greeted the first couple. "Mom... Dad... Thanks for coming. I'd like you to meet my partner and girlfriend, Temperance Brennan."

"Girlfriend? Well, that's new! Seeley talks about you all the time, but the girlfriend title is a new addition." Booth's mother spoke with a kind, albeit surprised, voice and then pulled Brennan into a hug.

"Dr. Brennan, we've been after Seeley to let us meet you for quite some time." Booth's father also pulled her into a hug.

"Please, Mr. and Mrs. Booth, call me Tempe."

"Sarah and James..." Booth's father corrected her. Brennan nodded and turned to greet Rebecca's parents.

When she looked over at Booth, he was hugging the blonde woman. "Nancy... I'm so sorry." Then he hugged the balding man. "Roger..." Booth continued th introductions. "Bones, these are Rebecca's parents, Nancy and Roger Stinson."

"I'm very sorry for your loss, Mr. and Mrs. Stinson." Rebecca's mother raised an eyebrow and shok her head. Brennan caught her meaning and amended, "Nancy and Roger." They thanked her and both gave her a hug. Brennan was a bit overwhelmed by how easily she was being accepted by Booth's and Rebecca's parents. _I suppose it has something to do with societal expectations in times of grief. People are supposed to pretend to get along with everyone, regardless of personal history. What a strange social moray! It just seems so insincere to me._ Brennan tried to shake off these thoughts and focus on being supportive of Parker and Booth.

At dinner, Parker dominated the conversation by catching up all four of his grandparents on what Booth had always affectionately referred to as 'the continuing saga of Parker Booth'. All of the adults listened attentively, and laughed occasionally, as Parker regaled them with the story of Bobby Feldman's birthday party and the tale of the class trip to the Baltimore Aquarium. When Parker was almost finished with his meal and seemed to be winding down his description of the starfish tank, Booth leaned over to Brennan and whispered something to her. She nodded and waited for Parker to reach a stopping point in his story.

"Hey Parker? I saw a game room when we were walking into the lobby of the hotel. Could you come and show me how to play some of the games?" Brennan had scarcely gotten the question out before she was being dragged away from the table by an excited Parker.

"Parker, behave yourself for Bones! Okay, Bub?" Booth called after them.

"Okay, Daddy! I will!" Parker shouted over his shoulder.

"Alright, I know that you want to discuss some things that I'd prefer Parker not overhear." Booth said, taking a drink of water.

"Yes, well... We've decided to do the funeral and the burial here in D.C. We want Parker to be able to visit her whenever he wants." Roger said in a shaky voice.

"That's very thoughtful of you, but I understand if you really want to do things in Philadelphia," Booth offered.

"No, this is what we want." Nancy's voice also trembled when she spoke, but she and Roger both looked resolute.

After about an hour, they had resolved how the funeral would be handled and started to sort out visitation for all of the grandparents with Parker. Things were going better than Booth could have possibly imagined. He had briefly been concerned that Rebecca's parents would have an issue with Booth becoming a full time dad, but now he felt guilty for even thinking it. The visitation conversation was interrupted by the return of a smiling Parker and Brennan; they had obviously had a good time playing video games. Booth felt his heart swell with love for his beautiful and amazing girlfriend. _Damn, I love her!_


End file.
